He switched off the TV and turned to his wife. 鈥淎lice,鈥� he began.
鈥淚t鈥檚 Alicia,鈥� she said.
鈥淩eally? Did you change your first name?鈥�
鈥淣o, but I鈥檓 thinking of changing the last one. Go on.鈥�
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 time that we and our three children. 鈥�
鈥淔辞耻谤.鈥�
鈥溾�� sat down as a family to figure out how we鈥檙e going to persevere through this crisis.鈥�
鈥淕ood idea.鈥�
鈥淚 mean, are we actually going to have to speak with each other now that our distractions are gone?鈥�
This is the question that gripped him Saturday while not watching Hockey Night in sa国际传媒. He had settled in front of the screen at the regular time, hoping for some blood sport alternative 鈥� Aussie Rules Football, perhaps, or a Democratic primary 鈥� but, alas, some bright spark at the CBC had decided to stick 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games figure skating re-runs where Hockey Night would usually be.
That鈥檚 like serving quinoa in place of a steak: It鈥檚 still food, but 鈥� When it comes to televised competitions, the average hockey fan rates figure skating somewhere between The Bachelor and The Great British Bake Off.
It鈥檚 not just hockey that鈥檚 on hold, of course. It鈥檚 most live sports, suspended for the duration.
And it鈥檚 not just sports, either. Theatres, cinemas, bars, restaurants, coffee shops 鈥� many of the places we go, the things that claim our attention, are off-limits for now.
Many people can鈥檛 even seek the refuge of their usual workplaces, whether that be because their jobs are in limbo or because they are now telecommuting from the couch. While it鈥檚 nice for some to have the option of the latter, it still has its limits: We all like working in our bathrobes, but it鈥檚 not as much fun when we鈥檙e barred from the office and can only do so at home.
Worse, those homes are infested with people in the same predicament 鈥� significant others at loose ends, sullen offspring whose idea of spring break hadn鈥檛 included bonus time with dad, or, as they liked to call him 鈥渢hat guy who drives the car.鈥� Right now, they were looking at him with as much enthusiasm as he watched the figure skating.
Nonetheless, he plunged ahead. 鈥淎lice/Alicia,鈥� he said, 鈥渨hat are we supposed to do now?鈥�
鈥淲ell,鈥� she replied, 鈥渓et鈥檚 talk about what鈥檚 important.鈥�
He nodded his assent. 鈥淵es, the liquor stores are still open.鈥�
She ignored him. 鈥淟et鈥檚 talk about self-isolation.鈥�
Again he nodded. 鈥淚 already told the oldest one to sleep in the back of the truck.鈥�
鈥淣o,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 mean the self-isolation we live every day of the year. There鈥檚 not one of us that doesn鈥檛 go around with our face in a screen all day long.鈥�
He couldn鈥檛 argue with that. Phones, televisions, tablets, computers 鈥� in September, an Angus Reid Institute survey showed that 22 per cent of Canadian children get more than four hours of screen time on a typical weekday.
And that鈥檚 just the children. The parents might be worse. Teachers say one of the greatest complaints they hear from students is that the children feel they come second to their parents鈥� phones. It鈥檚 as though whatever is on the screen is more important to them than their own kids.
This isn鈥檛 new. By 2005, Statistics sa国际传媒 was already reporting a marked decline in family time over a 20-year period. And in 2005 parents鈥� electronic tethers didn鈥檛 leash them to the 24-hour workplace in the way they do today. People didn鈥檛 call 911 if you took more than five minutes to answer their texts.
鈥淢aybe we should seize this as an opportunity,鈥� she said. 鈥淢aybe with much of the rest of life on the back burner, we should take this as a time to devote to one another instead of to those things that pull us apart even when we鈥檙e in the same room. Let鈥檚 get to know each other again.鈥�
She smiled at him the way Henrik Sedin used to smile at Daniel. This brought a tear to his eye, just like when Grapes got fired.
He turned to the nearest child. 鈥淟et鈥檚 have some fun together. Jigsaw puzzle? No,聽go get the Monopoly board, Max.鈥�
鈥淢ax is the dog,鈥� the boy replied.
鈥淚鈥檓 Kevin.鈥�
